PHOTO GALLERY
There’s always some strange, interesting, beautiful or fun going on here at the Acre, so I carry a camera. Just in case.
A Fungus Among Us
This odd looking thing popped up out of some leaf litter yesterday. It's slightly squishy like a mushroom, but it doesn't look like any one I've ever seen before. Anyone have an idea what it might be?
AROUND THE ACRE
Weathercam
Live camera shot facing west toward the Pacific Ocean, which is about 5 miles away.
Camera updates every 2 minutes.
→ Live Camera
→Wunderground
Weather Forcast
63°F
HOME & GARDEN
Video: A Duckling Redux
Back in August one of our females emerged from the lavender garden with 13 ducklings. They'd hang out by the vegetable garden and after a while developed a taste for tomatoes tossed to them from the garden.
Keyhole Garden – October 12, 2020
Gardener's Log : Keyhole Garden date 569. Now that we're several weeks into fall, the temperatures are making their annual wobble between hot and cold. The days are  [keep reading...]
Batch 20 Hot Sauce – Entry 4
Just put week 4's fresh peppers into the fermenter for Batch 20 of the fermented hot sauce. With the brine, looks like we're about 2/3rds of the way to getting a full 5 gallons before we send it off to spend the winter aging with oak
Make a DIY Bucket Air Conditioner
Build a simple and efficient portable room air conditioner for about $30 with a couple of buckets, some pipe, a jug of cold water and a cheap desk fan
Hot Sauce Batch 20 – Entry 3
It's the first day of Autumn and the peppers are coming in hot and heavy. I'm picking around one pound every couple of days right now, which means I'll be moving the peppers to the five gallon fermenter this week. The weather has been very warm so the initial ferment is off to a good start. It smells spicy and yeasty, which tells me the lacto ferment is happy. Once I pitch it to the big fermenter, things should really take off.
Keyhole Garden Update – Sept. 21, 2020
It's day 548 of production for the keyhole garden. The recent heatwave ended what was left of the tomatoes and most of the sweet peppers, but the squash is doing great. Plus, I discovered some garlic.
HOME & GARDEN
FOOD & RECIPES
How to make deli-style Italian sandwich rolls
Here's the recipe for chewy, crunchy, flavorful sub sandwich rolls so good your family and friends will have a hard time believing you made them.
Making Summer Pickles
If you love authentic dill pickles, there's nothing better or simpler to make than old fashioned deli-style summer pickles. This recipe dates back to 1900 and uses just a few spices and natural fermentation to make some of the best homemade pickles you'll ever taste. No refrigeration or fancy gadgets required.
Blackberry Jam Class of 2020
This year's "jam session" yielded about 3 gallons of blackberry and raspberry jam. We picked a little more than 20 lbs of fruit and used this foolproof recipe
FOOD & RECIPES
How to make deli-style Italian sandwich rolls
Here's the recipe for chewy, crunchy, flavorful sub sandwich rolls so good your family and friends will have a hard time believing you made them.
Making Summer Pickles
If you love authentic dill pickles, there's nothing better or simpler to make than old fashioned deli-style summer pickles. This recipe dates back to 1900 and uses just a few spices and natural fermentation to make some of the best homemade pickles you'll ever taste. No refrigeration or fancy gadgets required.
Blackberry Jam Class of 2020
This year's "jam session" yielded about 3 gallons of blackberry and raspberry jam. We picked a little more than 20 lbs of fruit and used this foolproof recipe
Scallop Squash Stuffed with Pesto Chicken
We're up to our eyeballs in squash so I'm always looking for new ways to use it in meals. Here's an easy recipe for pesto chicken stuffed in baked squash that everyone seems to love.
